(Madrid) Two migrants perished and four others were reported missing on Saturday off the Spanish Canary Islands when a total of 81 people were rescued at sea, relief said.
After a long night in difficult weather conditions, the rescue boat of Salvamento Maritimo, the Spanish Coast Guard, returned to the port of Arguineguin on the island of Gran Canaria in the Spanish archipelago with a total of 81 on board. survivors and a body, while his rescue helicopter brought in another body.
According to a spokesman for the coast guard, the alert was given on Friday regarding a boat in difficulty south of Gran Canaria. Guardamar Polimnia rescued 46 people from sub-Saharan Africa, all men.
“While he was returning to Arguineguin, he discovered another (boat) and as he approached to come to his aid, the boat turned around and the people (who were on board ) fell into the water, ”he told AFP.
The crew of the rescue boat managed to get 35 people, all North Africans, to safety and discovered the body of one person, while a helicopter from Salvamento discovered another body, he said. He specifies.
“According to those rescued, it seems that four other young people have disappeared at sea,” he added. Sea searches have not found any trace of the missing.
“The boat was wrecked just before the rescue operations: two bodies were discovered and four (people) were washed away by waves two meters high. Another 109 people are still at sea facing winds of up to 40 km per hour. Their rescue must be a priority ”, declared on Twitter Helena Maleno, member of the Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras, which alerts the rescue services on the boats in distress.
“Strong winds are destabilizing the fragile boats on board which they are trying to reach the Canary Islands”, she added.
In the past two weeks, Spanish rescuers have discovered the bodies of at least 16 people who had died trying to reach the Canary Islands.
In mid-November, 18,021 migrants had reached the Canary Islands by boat since the start of 2021, an increase of 10% compared to the same period last year.